Les Châteliers (Abbaye Ruinée)

Abbey of Chateliers

Outside the village of La Flotte, off the eastern shore of Ile de Ré, lies the ruins of an old Cistercian abbey. Once revered as a place of pilgrimage, the Hundred Year War and Wars of Religions lead to its abandonment in the 17th century. Many of the structures stones were used to build the fort down the road. Without its roof, the ceiling opens up to the sky, heightening the solemnity and sacredness of the old monastery.